List the characters in the story. Write one to two sentences on the defining characteristics of each one, providing at least one citation to illustrate your comments.
How do the villagers respond to the spider girl? What do you think their response symbolizes -- how does it relate to the rest of the story?
Write a three-paragraph comparison between themes in Márquez's "Old Man" and Kafka's "The Metamorphosis".
all theses question have to do with "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"
To list the characters in "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," we have:
1. The Old Man with Enormous Wings: The old man with wings is described as feeble and dirty, with barely any feathers, making him appear more like a decrepit bird than a celestial being. His presence creates confusion, fear, and curiosity among the villagers. (Citation: "He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn't get up, impeded by his enormous wings.")
2. Pelayo: Pelayo is the main character, and he and his wife, Elisenda, discover the old man with wings in their courtyard. Pelayo initially views the old man as a burden on their lives but ultimately realizes the potential benefits of his presence. (Citation: "Pelayo got up with the hens. On the other side of the courtyard, against the wall of the neighbor's house, there was an enormous spiderweb stuck to the roses with its crusts of mud and its dead insects.")
3. Elisenda: Elisenda is Pelayo's wife who initially treats the old man with skepticism and seeks to exploit him for financial gain once the villagers become interested in seeing him. (Citation: "She was barely fifteen years old and she had just married him with the idea of livening up her still-difficult adolescence.")
4. The Spider Girl: The Spider Girl is a child in the village who is born with the body of a human girl but the head of a spider. The villagers quickly lose interest in the old man with wings and turn their attention instead to the intriguing Spider Girl. (Citation: "The most unfortunate invalids on earth came in search of health: a poor woman who since childhood has been counting her heartbeats and had run out of numbers; a Portuguese cavalry captain who wouldn't die of war wounds; and a cluster of paralyzed folk who rang bells day and night, trying to conjure life with their noise.")
In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," the villagers initially respond with curiosity, treating the old man with wings as a spectacle by gawking at him and exhibiting him for profit. However, as time passes and the novelty wanes, the villagers lose interest in the old man and shift their attention to the Spider Girl. This response symbolizes society's fickle nature and its tendency to quickly discard and replace individuals or phenomena once they no longer provide entertainment or intrigue. It relates to the rest of the story by highlighting the villagers' superficiality and their inability to appreciate the supernatural or extraordinary in their midst once it becomes commonplace.
A three-paragraph comparison between the themes in Gabriel García Márquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" reveals similarities and differences in their treatment of fantastical elements and the impact on the characters. Both stories explore the theme of alienation and isolation caused by physical transformation. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," the old man's wings cause him to be ostracized and treated as an outcast within the village. Similarly, in "The Metamorphosis," Gregor Samsa's transformation into a giant insect leads to his isolation and rejection by his own family. However, while "The Metamorphosis" delves deeper into psychological and existential themes, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" focuses more on the exploitation of the extraordinary and the effects of societal indifference towards the supernatural.
Another noteworthy comparison lies in the themes of human nature and the society's response to the abnormal. Both stories challenge societal norms and question how people treat those who do not conform to their expectations. In "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," the villagers' fascination with the Spider Girl and subsequent abandonment of the old man with wings reflects society's fleeting interest in the extraordinary and its cruel treatment of those who don't fit within established norms. In "The Metamorphosis," Gregor's family's rejection of him after his metamorphosis represents the shallow nature of social relationships and the tendency to value individuals solely for their contributions to society. Both stories delve into themes of alienation, exploitation, and the impact of societal attitudes toward the abnormal.